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November FMA Fully Alive 2016

LOGO – 140th Anniversary of First FMA Missionary Expedition * 140 = anniversary of the first FMA missionary expedition * pink & blue = colours of our FMA flag * stars = constellation of the Southern Cross representing Mary, Star of the Sea * the curved line = evokes the world, horizon of the mission

Dear Sisters,

As the Year of Mercy comes to a close on Sunday, 13 November in each diocese and on the Feast of Christ the King, Sunday 20 November in Rome by Pope Francis, we are called by our Holy Father to continue to live mercy in daily life, to be challenged to go beyond whatever could be holding us back from LIVING MERCY in our lives. The Pope is also asking us to embark on projects that move us beyond our comfort zone, out into the peripheries of life, if not geographical ones, ones where we accompany people around us who are struggling with the multiple complexities of life with compassion and empathy.

All of the above coincides so well with what our Institute is launching exactly tomorrow. Sr. Alaide Deritti, FMA councillor for the missions, has written a circular letter dated 14 November 2016, sent as a separate PDF file to this Fully Alive. In it she states that she is officially launching a year’s initiative to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the first FMA missionary expedition which occurred on 14 November 1877 led by the 23 year old Sr. Angela Vallese with five other young FMA. But not to leave this just as an historical remembrance, as exciting as it was then for our first FMA and full of the unknown, Sr. Alaide wants the whole Institute to embark on a “GREAT MISSIONARY EXPEDITION” for this entire year (14 Nov 2016 – 14 Nov 2017). She writes: […] My wish is that no FMA be left out of this missionary expedition! Each of us, by virtue of our baptism and religious consecration are “missionary disciples”. And while we have this great joy, we must realise it is also a responsibility to proclaim Jesus to new generations, first and foremost with our lives, and then with words…if necessary! Dear Sisters, […] on the 14th of each month, we will share the proposed journey with you for the celebration of this 140th anniversary. There is not much to do to celebrate this significant moment, other than to intensely live out our vocation as Daughters of Mary Help of Christians with simplicity, with a strong missionary passion, bringing to everyone, the joy and hope that flows from a heart that has truly encountered the Lord; and, in Him, the desire to meet the young, in a special way, in the poorest, the “invisible”, those who live on the periphery of existence in our cities; the young, who have no one to lend them a hand, no one who is looking out for their good, no one who is interested in them; those rejected by our social systems, and as a consequence, refuse any educational proposals for their own growth and that would give meaning to their lives.

Sr. Alaide Deritti, Councillor for the Missions, 14 November 2016 Yes, in our province we are exploring the possibility of a new presence in the Solomon Islands. Can everyone physically participate in this? No. But nothing stops any of us, as Sr. Alaide states, from living our FMA calling in simplicity, with great missionary passion, bringing joy and hope to everyone especially those she terms as the ‘’invisible” ones, the ones society would rather forget, ignore or disregard for whatever reason. As I go around the houses I hear stories of the people you are accompanying and many of them fit what Sr. Alaide describes in her circular letter. The Institute has created a logo to mark this occasion. What struck me is that they have used the constellation of the Southern Cross in the logo, well known to us all in this region of the world. I am sure it was chosen because the first communities of our Sisters in South America were situated in the southern hemisphere. So let us rejoice that the hemisphere you and I live in is being highlighted! All the more reason for us not only to rejoice but to truly LIVE our FMA life with pride, initiative and daring in whatever way we can.

As ever and always in MM,

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